But Not Alone
by theprincesszoey
Summary: Maya Hart is sinking into depression. She's having trouble with her mother, and she may be feeling something for a certain Ranger Rick. Her friends notice she seems off, but it's Lucas paying extra attention to Maya's behavior. Why? Maya knows she must save herself from this sadness she can't escape, but she also realizes she can't do it alone. Hurt/Friendship/Romance. T - Cursing
1. one

Just a bit of a disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World or it's characters. I just love to write stories about other's characters that I fall in love with.

Also, I've not yet edited this chapter, but I hope you'll ignore my mistakes. :)

* * *

"what's wrong, maya?"

 _what isn't wrong?_ she thinks to herself. _my life feels like it's falling apart, and there's nothing i can do about it. my mom keeps bringing home guy after guy after guy, only to wake up alone the next day, and shut me out for a week or two. the cycle just continues. it feels like i rarely see my actual mother anymore, whenever i do actually get to see her. i feel like i'm somehow going to lose everyone important to me because of this, too. and good god, i think i'm falling in like with that stupid ranger ri-_

"maya," riley repeats, concern clear in her tone.

maya looks up to riley and shows her a small smile. "i'm fine, riles," she says.

"are you sure?"

"positive, hun. don't worry about me."

"alright, i'll see you tonight at my place, then?"

"wouldn't miss it."

as soon as riley is out of site, maya turns the corner to walk to her apartment. she sucks in a sharp breath before the tears stream down her face. _no, maya!_ she starts to feel angry with herself. she's not allowed to cry.

maya hart has convinced herself that she is not allowed to be sad or cry. _i bring shit upon myself_ , she tells herself. or _there are people who have it worse than you do, maya._ these thoughts started at an early age. "god dammit, maya quit your fucking crying!" kermit hart yells to a seven-year-old maya hart. "i'm leaving and your whiny fucking sobs will not stop me! quit being so _pathetic_." at the time, maya had no clue what the word pathetic meant. she just knew that her father spit the word at her with such _disgust_ , and that she could never unhear these words.

maya lets herself in to the empty apartment. "mom, i'm sleeping over at riley's tonight," she mumbles as she passes the empty kitchen. she packs herself a change of clothes, pajamas, and a toothbrush before leaving the apartment. she locks the door behind her, even though burglars wouldn't find much in this tiny place anyway.

* * *

when maya arrives at the matthew's residence, she doesn't knock. she opens the door and shouts "i'm home!" so everyone can hear.

riley runs out of her bedroom and over to hug maya. "hi!" she says enthusiastically.

maya smiles. "hey,"

"i hope you don't mind, but it's friday night, so i invited farkle and lucas over for a movie night."

 _of course you have._ she doesn't know what to think. of course, she doesn't mind farkle's presence, as annoying as he is. she does however, mind lucas. she minds because she's just started to notice how much she enjoys their little banters. she's realizing how attractive he looks when he smirks down at her, or how much she truly appreciates his indirect ways of looking out for her. and that's just the beginning of it.

"nope, not at all," she says.

* * *

*knock knock knock*

"oh! the boys are here," riley says as she dumps microwave popcorn into two bowls. "maya, can you get the door for me, please?"

maya gets up from the couch and walks over to the door. "welcome to the matthew's residence," she greets them as the front door opens.

farkle thanks her and lucas just smiles at her. as soon as he's walked past her, she takes a deep breath in and closes the door. "the movies i picked vary from action, comedy, and romantic comedies, so i don't want to hear any complaining, thank you." riley says as she sets the bowls of popcorn down on the coffee table. farkle sits next to riley, who is sitting next to maya. lucas sits down next to maya, since he was the last one to get to the couch. maya looks at him and he smiles at her. "you won't know i'm here," he says.

maya rolls her eyes in an attempt to shake off whatever emotions she may be feeling at the moment.

maya feels her phone vibrate in her left pocket twice. she sees a text message from her mother. _i just got home, but i assume you're already at riley's. i met someone at the bar tonight! his name is henry. wish me luck! ;)_

maya sighs and rolls her eyes. she knows her mother is going to wake up sad and alone tomorrow morning. "you alright?" lucas whispers, eyes still on the tv screen.

"yes, i'm fine," she whispers back. lucas doesn't say anything else in return.

"riley, i think i have to get home early tomorrow morning. so you'll probably wake up after i'm already gone."

"alright," she responds, eyes fixated on tv screen, as well.

maya slouches, leaning her head back on the sofa and staring at the ceiling. she doesn't remember when she falls asleep, but she's awaken by a light push on her shoulder. "maya. maya, wake up," lucas whispers to her. "maya, wake up," he says again. she opens her eyes and blinks many times before taking in her surroundings. she's leaning on something- someone. she looks up to see lucas. she's leaning on lucas. _she's leaning on lucas._

she sits up fast as she can. "sorry," she says.

he chuckles. "that's okay, don't worry about it."

"i'm going to bed," maya announces. "goodnight everyone."

they all tell her goodnight, but only lucas watches maya exit to riley's bedroom. "do you mind if i check on her?" lucas asks riley.

"no, not at all," riley says, not looking away from whatever movie she's moved on to. he doesn't remember.

lucas walks down the short hallway until finding riley's bedroom. he knocks lightly on the door. when he doesn't get a response, he lets himself in. "riley?" maya says, clearly half-asleep.

"no, it's lucas," he says, sitting down on the bed. "i just wanted to make sure you were able to get yourself into under the blankets. you didn't really seem to know what was going on when i woke you up."

"0h, yeah. sorry about… that," she says, eyes closed.

"no problem. i don't mind, really."

maya doesn't respond. she just lays in riley's bed, listening to lucas's presence.

"well, goodnight, maya."

"goodnight, lucas," she mumbles. and he smirks because she just called him lucas.


	2. two

woo! chapter two! i don't know about everyone else, but i'm enjoying this story so far! i have many plans for it, so if you like what you read, let me know! reviews mean so much to me. thank you (:

* * *

maya wakes up around 8:30 am. she slips on a pair of jeans and her shoes, then grabs her bag. she whispers some sort of goodbye to a peacefully sleeping riley as she walks out of the cozy apartment.

the walk back to the hart residence feels short because maya is distracted by her thoughts. she's wondering about what it'll look like when she gets there. if her mother will even be there. and if she is, is she going to be there alone?

*line break*

"mom, i'm home," maya calls out, searching the dull apartment. "mom, are you here?"

she turns the corner into the kitchen and sees a white piece of paper with words spelled out in black ink. "went in for an early shift."it says. which also means "i woke up alone this morning again and you should probably just go back to riley's for the weekend."

maya sighs and slams her fist on the kitchen counter. what's the point? why does she insist on meeting new guys at the same crappy places when she knows it isn't going to work out for her? maya doesn't understand why her mother tries so hard. even if the guy is here in the morning, he'll probably go running once he finds out katy has me for a daughter, she tells herself.

maya changes her clothes, brushes her teeth, and grabs a jacket before deciding to take a stroll around new york city, for once. she suppresses any tears she feels forming in her eyes. she won't have more of this crying bullshit. don't be so pathetic, she tells herself.

her "stroll around new york city" ended up being the walk back from her apartment to riley's. it was only 9 am, but she won't be surprised if the others are awake already.

* * *

6:30 am on a monday morning came too quickly for maya. she was reluctant to get out of bed, but she knows she must get to school. she doesn't have much else going for her besides an education.

when she looks at herself in the mirror, she sees the bags and dark circles under her eyes that make her look half-human and half-zombie. she sighs, how much concealer is this going to require?

while desperately trying to make herself look as awake and lively as possible, her phone starts to ring. who could possibly be calling me this early in the morning? she looks at the caller id screen riley matthews is calling, it reads. "riley matthews, why are you calling me so damn early in the morning?"

"hi, maya," she says, sounding like she's pinching her nose. oh, wait. "i woke up with an ugly cold this morning, so i won't be coming to school today or tomorrow for sure."

"do you want me to stop by with some soup or something? i just need to-" but riley cuts her off.

"thank you, maya. but that won't be necessary," she can hear the sickly smile that riley must be showing right now.

"alright, hun. well, get to sleep and feel better," she says. "i'll see you soon."

*click* great. what is maya supposed to do now? she knows that riley is maya's only friend. everyone knows that riley is maya's only friend.

* * *

maya doesn't show up to school until barely a minute before the bell rings so she doesn't have to wait in the hallway alone.

at lunch, she hides in the library and doesn't even eat. she doesn't know where her appetite has gone, but she does know that school pizza is the last thing she wants to fill up on right now.

she's peacefully hibernated in one of the corners of the library, sketchbook on her lap and a pencil in her right hand. "i thought i might find you here," a voice says.

she doesn't have to look up from the piece of paper she's sketching on, "congratulations, sundance."

he smirks, "mind if i join ya?"

she looks up from the sketchbook and puts down the pencil. "why do you want to join me?" she asks, and he frowns slightly because she sounds genuinely puzzled.

"in case you forgot, we only have our circle of four friends. also, half of us are missing today. i'd go see what zay is doing or something, but i'd rather sit with you."

when he says this, maya feels her heart beat a little harder and her stomach starts to feel funny. "um, yeah. o-okay," she says, shoving her bag further in the corner so lucas can sit next to her.

"what are you working on?" he asks, peeking over her shoulder.

"oh, nothing. just scribbling, really," she tells him.

"you call that scribbling? i wish i could 'scribble' like that," and she smiles.

he loves it when she smiles. especially since she doesn't actually smile so often anymore. she thinks that no one has noticed how fake her little half smiles that she shows riley and the rest of the gang are, but lucas has. lucas notices everything about maya: the way she sticks her tongue out just a tiny bit when she's sketching, or how her eyes light up when she's around the matthews family. he also notices that she's more quiet than she ever has been for as long as he's known her, and that the blue storms in her eyes hold tints of anger and sadness and maybe even guilt.

"so, maya, how are you?" he asks her.

she looks up from her sketchbook and to lucas. "i'm good," she says, assuringly, but he doesn't know whether to believe that or not. "how about you?"

"i'm alright. a little stressed, but just because of the usual stuff, yanno?"

"don't i know it," she mumbles.

they spend the rest of the lunch break talking about nothing in particular. it wasn't as awkward as being asked, "lovely weather we're having, isn't it?" but it wouldn't have been a surprise if that question were thrown in there, too.

* * *

maya walks into a still empty apartment after school. "i'm home," she mumbles again. she doesn't exactly know why she insists on announcing her presence to the empty rooms. maybe it's because she hopes that someday there will be someone actually in the apartment with her to acknowledge her back.

she actually does her homework tonight. and instead of making herself a cheap dinner like she normally would, she gets ready for bed and goes to sleep early. she knows she wouldn't have eaten the food anyway.


	3. three

I'm sorry! I've been on vacation and that's why chapter three is so late. I promise I've not ditched this story! I now present to you, chalter three. :)

* * *

it's three am, and she's still crying. she thinks it was one or so when she started to cry; she can't remember. she feels so foolish! "why are you crying?" she scolds herself. she doesn't even know if she's sad for any real reason anymore, or if it's just the routine she's formed for herself.

if things were different, maya would've known to call riley or topanga or maybe even to go wake up her mother. but instead, she lays her head down on her pillow and lets the tears flow freely until she's fallen asleep.

* * *

although she knew lucas would be waiting for her, maya still showed up to class right as the bell rang. he greeted her with a "good morning," but she just nodded at him in response.

her foot bounced impatiently under her desk as she watched the clock tick slowly. she just wanted the lunch bell to ring so she could hide away in the quiet library again.

when the bell finally did ring, maya hurriedly grabbed her bag and headed straight for the library. shortly after she'd settled in the corner again, lucas sat down next to her. maya didn't feel the need to greet him nor tell him to go away. she appreciated the calm company he'd bring her, unlike riley who would probably talk until she ran out of things to talk about. (however, it's more likely that the bell signaling that lunch is over will ring before that happens). "how's your day treating you so far?" she asks him, eyes in a sketchbook.

"oh, it's well, thank you," he tells her. "how about yours?"

"i'm ready to go home," she says, but then she looks up at him. "but i'm always ready for the school day to be over, so it's not a big deal."

"that's understandable."

they fall back into silence, maya sketching away, lucas admiring her as she does so. when maya becomes aware of his eyes watching her, she feels self-conscious and turns her back closer to him. "sorry," he mumbles, softly.

* * *

"maya, do you realize how pretty you are?"

her eyes widen for a quick moment, but she makes sure he can't see her face. "where's that coming from?" she says, trying to hide the surprise in her voice.

"do you know how pretty you are? beautiful, even."

maya lowers her head. he can't really mean that, can he? "you're funny, ranger rick. i know i'm not pretty and nowhere near beautiful. riley, on the other hand-"

"maya, stop. this isn't about riley. i'm talking about you."

"that's a subject i'd rather not talk about," she says, eyes pleading for him to just stop talking about how 'pretty' she knows she isn't.

he sighs and drops his shoulders in defeat. he's really disappointed, but not because he wanted to keep talking about maya's beauty. he's disappointed because she didn't believe him. matter of fact, she insisted that's she's not pretty. and then she tried changing the subject to riley. yes, riley is pretty, but lucas finds maya beyond beautiful, and he knows riley would agree.

* * *

when riley shows up to school the next day, maya smiles and runs up to hug her best friend. "these last two days just haven't been the same without you," maya admits dramatically, placing her hand over her heart and also sneaking a quick glance at lucas.

maya and lucas's lunch routine has returned to normal, as they sit at a cafeteria table with riley. "ladies," they hear a voice approaching them. "and lucas, of course," the voice finishes.

"hey, farkle," they all say in unison.

"why are you just now getting here?" maya asks.

"doctor appointment," he says.

"and, how is it that both you and riley are sick at the same time?" is maya's next question. (and the one she really wants to know the answer to).

both riley and farkle look at their food and blush. maya's eyes widen. "were you two-"

"no!" they both say, and then look at each other. "it was just some innocent cuddling, that's all," riley says to her lunch tray.

"awwww," maya says, teasingly. "riley and farkle! how cute!"

lucas is watching maya with a small smile on his face. he finds it funny how her mood has changed now that her best friend is back.

* * *

"feeling better?" lucas asks maya as the four friends walk to riley's.

"what do you mean?" maya asks.

"never mind," he says, even though they both know that she knows exactly what he means.

* * *

friday rolled around quickly again, and though maya hated how much her mother was isolating herself, she was beyond greatful to have something to do tonight.

"which movies shall we pick out for the guys tonight?" riley asks.

"i don't care," maya says, smiling. "you pick."

"well, since we let them watch more action movies than not last weekend..." riley smirks.

"romance it is!" maya exclaims.

"or..." riley says.

both boys groan in annoyance when disney's "tangled" began to play. "just shut up and watch the movie," riley says as she wraps her arms around farkle and leans her head on his chest. his arm instantly goes around her and rubs his hand up and down on her back.

maya smirks and looks over to lucas who'd already been looking at maya. "i think it's so cute that it looks like it just happens naturally. you'd think they've been dating for months or even a year or something," she whispers.

"go farkle," is he whispers back.

"i wonder what it's like," maya says, still whispering, but it sounds more like she's thinking out loud rather than talking to lucas.

"what what's like?" he asks, clearly curious.

she looks up at him, startled. "oh, uh. just to... i don't know...feel that sort of love and security from someone who loves you back, you know? i know i love riley and that she loves me back, but i mean...well, i don't really know how to explain it."

"i understand," he says. "and there's not a doubt in my mind that there is someone out there just waiting to fall in love with you."

"i wouldn't be surprised if there isn't, though," she says.

* * *

throughout their movie night, lucas catches maya glancing over at the snuggling 'not' couple. he sighs, and hopes his idea he's about to try is going to work. "come here," he whispers to maya as he slowly starts putting his arm around her.

"what are you-"

"just go with it," he tells her softly, and she gives in.

she feels butterflies in her stomach as lucas's arm is fully around her shoulders and he brings her close enough to lean her head on him, too. so, just like riley, maya leans her head on lucas's chest, resting her hands underneath her head. she lets out a deep breath and keeps her eyes on the movie.

lucas looks down to the beautiful blonde laying so still on his chest, and softly kisses the top of her head while rubbing his thumb slowly up and down on her upperarm. he doesn't know if she's still awake or not to notice his actions, but he decides that he doesn't care.


	4. four

hi! no, i didn't disappear! i've just been busy with family and now school has started, but i've not given up on this story!

* * *

"farkle, look," riley whispers, lightly patting his chest to get his attention.

farkle, with one arm still around riley, sits up to see lucas and maya cuddling (and now sleeping).

"what should we do?" riley asks.

"leave 'em." farkle says, leaning back into the cushions and taking riley with him. "maya obviously hasn't been sleeping much and lucas could use the rest, too."

"okay," riley says with a small smile, putting her head back on farkle's chest.

* * *

the couple are finally awoken around midnight by farkle tapping lucas's shoulder repeatedly. "time to get going, cowboy," he tells him.

startled, lucas's shoots up, which wakes up maya. she blinks a few times before taking in the situation: she fell asleep, cuddling lucas... because she wanted to. she unwraps his arms from him and stands up. "i'm going to bed. goodnight everyone."

lucas feels slightly confused as to why she left so quickly, but brushes it off because he's too tired to keep thinking about it.

riley walks the two boys out, telling them to get home safe. as soon as she reaches her bedroom, she can tell maya's not asleep. "hi maya," she says.

"hello," she mumbles.

riley changes into her pajamas and gets into bed next to maya. she turns her body to face her. "what's going on lately?"

"what do you mean?" maya whispers, turning her body to face riley's.

"well, for starters, you and lucas we're _cuddling_ ," she whispers excitedly.

"he just feels bad for me, riles,"

"feels bad for you?"

"yes. the only reason we've been friends this week is because you and farkle didn't show up to school... speaking of, how is it that both of you got sick at the same time?"

riley's eyes widen slightly, and maya can tell she's blushing, even in the dark. "well..." riley trails off.

"spit it out!" maya whisper-yells.

"there may have been some kissing between the two of us? i don't know who was already sick but-"

"riley! no way!" maya lightly pushes riley. "you go girl!" she teases.

"maya! you changed the subject."

maya's smile fades quickly. "what do you want to know?" she asks, emotionless.

"are you okay?"

maya sighs, knowing she should tell her best friend the truth. "no, not really. i'm sorry."

"don't apologize. you're my best friend, and i always am interested in whatever you have to say."

"my mom is dating again, riley. or, she's trying to. but they're all dicks, as usual."

riley's eyes soften. she remembers how tense things were between maya and katy last time she tried dating men. "oh, i understand. if you need anything at all, remember my phone is always on and you're always welcome into this apartment, okay?"

"thank you, i appreciate it," she tells her, scooting closer to the big-eyed brunette and closing her eyes.

* * *

the following monday consists of maya going out of her way to avoid lucas. so do tuesday, wednesday, and thursday. finally, on friday, he catches her in the hall before she can vanish in the halls. "maya, why are you avoiding me," he says sternly as she's shuffling books around in her locker.

she doesn't turn to face him. in fact, she finds the books she's looking for, shoves them into her backpack, and shuts her locker before turning to the opposite direction of lucas. she starts to walk, but he grabs her arm. she yanks it away from him and looks at him. "what do you want," she says, annoyed.

"what the hell is your problem, hart?"

"my problem is _you_ ," she spits out as if she's just tasted poison.

it hurts him, quite a bit, to hear those words come out of her mouth. _especially_ when she says them like _that_. but he decides to hide the hurt and question her. "what? why am i the problem?"

"you know why, lucas!" she yells, stomping her foot on the ground. "don't lie to me. i know that the only reason you are my friend is because you _feel sorry for me_!"

his eyes widen in shock. "i've never heard such _bullshit_ in my entire fucking existence, maya hart."

frustrated tears glaze her eyes, and she thinks she blinks them away before lucas can notice. his angered expression softens. "can we please talk after school?" he asks calmly. "i'll walk you home."

"fine," she says, before rushing to fourth period.

* * *

after school came too quickly for maya, but she patiently waited for lucas. when he sees her waiting for him, he uses a lot of his effort to hide the smile she brings him. "hi," he says quietly.

"let's go," she says.

five minutes into their very quiet walk to maya's, lucas speaks up. "so where did you get this crazy idea that we're friends because i pity you?"

"it's not a crazy idea," she says. "i know you just feel sorry for me because you know i have a shitty life," she finishes as if it's no big deal at all.

"maya, you are _so much_ _more_ than some girl with a shitty life," he explains passionately. "you should know that."

she rolls her eyes, but smiles at him. "thanks for trying," she says.

he stops in front of her and puts both hands on each of her shoulders. "maya, look at me. i mean it when i tell you i am your friend for _many_ reasons, none of them relating to your home life, understand?"

as much as she wants to believe him, she just doesn't. but she decides against telling him so and smiles instead. "thank you, lucas."

they turn the corner and reach her apartment. "weird, my mom's car is in the driveway. i wonder why she's home so early. thanks for walking me home, ranger rick."

"anytime, m'am," he says, tipping his imaginary cowboy hat.

* * *

lucas is about to turn the corner once again to walk back home when he hears footsteps rushing closer to him. he turns around to face maya, who has bloodshot eyes and a panicked look clear on her face. he immediately worries. "maya, what's going on?"

"i don't know what's wrong," she tells him.

"what? i don't understand."

she grabs his wrist and starts running back toward her apartment. "my- my mom. sh-she's passed out on the floor. i don't know what's going on. th-there are so many b-bottles of alcohol everywhere."

lucas is quickly forced into the situation. he looks around the room briefly before he notices the unconscious woman laying on the floor. "i-i think she's unconscious, lucas."

"go dial 911 and bring me the phone, now," he commands, not harshly, but with enough authority in his voice that maya's running for the phone immediately.

"i'm so scared," she says softly, and it's a wake up call for lucas. maya isn't this extremely tough badass that couldn't give two shits all the time. right now she's far from intimidating and definitely nowhere near a bully. this is the first time he's ever seen her so- so _broken_. and as much as he wants to drop everything and hug the girl so tight that all of her troubles dissolve, he knows that his priority right now is katy.

"911, what's your emergency?" says the operator.

"hi, um, my friend's mother is currently laying unconscious. she- we think it's alcohol poisoning, but i'm only seventeen, i have no idea. i don't know what to do."

the operator tells lucas to keep his fingers on katy's neck, checking for a pulse. thankfully, he can feel it. she asks for their location, then let's lucas know that an ambulance is just around the corner, and it shouldn't be long. he turns to nod at maya, and she let's out a deep breath of relief.

inside of the ambulance are katy, maya, lucas, and the paramedic that's placing all sorts of little tubes and needles over maya's mother. he's also asking maya a number of questions that she's far too panicky to answer, so lucas answers for her.


	5. five

lucas can see her impatience and worry through maya's body language. the way she is quickly bouncing her foot up and down as they sit in chairs nearest katy's room, or how she keeps shifting in her seat as if she can't get comfortable (but, under these circumstances, he understands that she most likely can't). her eyes are frantically wandering all over the waiting room, and every time a doctor walks in their direction, maya automatically leans to the edge of her seat. while lucas is also nervous, he takes on the responsibility of keeping calm and collected for the both of them. maya's fidgeting, however, isn't helping him maintain his posture, so he reaches over and places his hand into hers. she pauses and looks at their hands, then up to him. "look at me. i know you're nervous, but it's going to be okay. we just need to be patient." she relaxes and leans into the chair, resting her head back and closing her eyes to let out a deep breath. lucas starts to remove his hand, but she squeezes it tighter so he won't let go. "you are the only thing keeping me as calm as i am right now," she says, softly, still staring at the white ceiling.

the matthews family and farkle arrive, but maya still hasn't heard any news. riley runs up to hug her best friend, and that's when maya loses it all over again. riley squeezes her tighter, and farkle places his arms over both girls, leaning his head towards maya. when they let go of her, she runs over to lucas and wraps her arms around his waist, burying her face into his chest. at first he's slightly shocked, looking to riley and farkle for some sort of assurance. then, he wraps his arms around the fragile blonde and kisses her head.

* * *

what feels like hours, (for maya, at least), pass before a doctor approaches the group. "are you the family here for katy hart?"

maya speaks up immediately. "yes! right here! i'm her daughter, is she okay?" she asks, eyes wide.

"she's fine, now, miss hart. uh, is there an adult here with you that i can speak to?"

"topanga? topanga!" maya yells, and topanga rushes over. "the doctor wants to talk to you!"

the doctor pulls topanga aside and maya watches every gesture: topanga nodding her head up and down, the doctor using his hands as he describes the situation, and the way topanga seems slightly tense in the way she has her arms crossed and her posture perfectly straight. topanga calls cory over and they disappear into the room that maya assumes katy is being assisted in.

maya looks to her friends. "what? why are they doing that? i'm her daughter, why aren't they telling me anything! oh no, what if nothing's fine and the doctor is lying to me? there should be a law against that! i-"

"maya, calm down," riley says. "i don't think that the doctor would lie to a patient's daughter, of all people, about something that serious."

maya leans her head into riley's shoulder and let's out another deep breath before closing her eyes and falling under a light sleep.

* * *

"maya," riley whispers, patting her shoulder. "maya, wake up," she says, and maya's head shoots up.

"what? what's going on?"

"they're letting us go see your mother now," she says, smiling pitifully at her best friend. maya sees it, but she's in too much of a rush to tell riley that she doesn't need her pity.

they open the door quietly, and see katy lying in the hospital bed, awake. maya takes a minute to approach the bed because she's anxiously observing every tube and needle connected to her mother's body. lucas takes maya's hand once again, squeezing it to encourage her to go see katy.

"hi, mom," maya says softly.

"hi, my love," she responds.

"how are you feeling?"

"i'm alright, i guess. maybe just a little tired," she says, followed by a noise that was probably supposed to sound like small laughter.

maya smiles slightly, "i'll bet."

"you're going to stay at the matthews' tonight, that alright?"

"yes, always."

there's a soft knock on the door, and a nurse pokes her head in, "hi, sorry to interrupt, but visiting hours are over now. but feel free to come back tomorrow morning!" she says, awfully cheery for being a nurse working at this hour.

"goodnight, mom. i love you. i'll come see you after school tomorrow."

"i love you too, goodnight." katy says, and maya leans down to hug her mother the best she can.

they exit the hospital building, all six of them piling into the car and driving to maya's place so she can pack a bag. she packs extra, because she doesn't know how long she'll be away from home.

in the back seats of cory's vehicle, maya turns behind her to look at lucas. "what is it?" he whispers.

"i don't know what i would've done without you, today," she admits.

"i'm grateful i was there and able to help you get through this. i can only imagine what it might've been like if… nevermind. but, i'm always going to be here for you, maya, no matter what the circumstances."

she smiles tiredly at him. "thank you," she whispers before turning back around.

* * *

maya is really pushing the tough chick attitude by the time monday rolls around, and it's confusing for all of them, even riley. she's not smiled at anyone today, not even lucas, after all they'd been through this weekend. he knows it's all fake; that she's putting up some sort of fake exterior so no one will know that her mom nearly drank herself to death just three days ago.

and she doesn't smile or even fake happiness on tuesday, and when lucas or riley or farkle try to approach her and ask about it, she merely shrugs her shoulders and tells them that she doesn't know what they're talking about, followed by some sort of statement like "i'm fine," or "don't worry about me,"

and on thursday, when lucas finds maya in the library at lunch, quietly destructing a bunch of papers in her sketchbook with puffy eyes and mascara making unique lines down her cheeks, he forces the sketchbook out of her hands and brings her delicate body into his arms. she shakes and let's out a quiet sob into his shoulder. it's quite a sight, the two of them hugging on the floor in the back of the library, surrounded by crumpled papers.

he walks her to riley's that day, and, ignoring the voice in her head telling her that she's letting him in way too easily, maya turns to lucas and kisses him on the cheek right before he goes. he's taken back by the gesture, but walks to his own home with a small smile that refuses to leave his lips.


End file.
